Two weekends ago, Aiya sales representative Michael flew up to Toronto for the 2014 Canadian Coffee & Tea Show. The show took place over two days on September 28th & 29th and was hosted at the International Centre. The show had everything, from a Barista Competition, to teas from all over the world. Once again, Aiya was showing its support for our Canadian partner Gerhards Importers at their booth.

At the show, Aiya sampled some new and fun drinks for the Canadian market. By using our Matcha Zen Café Blend and syrups from Monin, we made three different flavored Iced Matcha green teas: Mango, Peppermint and Lemon Matcha Iced Teas. The Mango flavored tea seemed to garner the most compliments from the attendees. The Matcha Iced teas were quite a welcome treat, since the weather was fairly warm for that time of year in Toronto.

Michael also sampled our always popular Iced Matcha Lattes. In conjunction with our Matcha Zen Café Blend, he used the Pacific brand Barista Series Almond Milk. This was Aiya’s first time using that almond milk for the lattes and the results were great. The final product was a rich and creamy Iced Matcha Latte, without the overpowering flavor of almonds. The Monin syrups and Pacifc Almond Milk can be obtained from Gerhards for our Canadian customers. The products worked so well with our Matcha Zen Café Blend that we are considering using them in the future at the American shows.

We have seen the popularity of Matcha grow in Canada, just as it has here in the States, so it was important to us that we were a Product Sponsor for the show. Aiya will be traveling to the Great White North again in 2015 for the CRFA Show. We will be at the Gerhards booth once more, so please stop by to enjoy some samples and say hello!

The launch of our newest product, Matcha To-Go, makes things quick and convenient for the busy tea lover. Though preparing Matcha in the traditional fashion is a unique and enjoyable experience, we occasionally may want to enjoy some Matcha outside of our home, like at the office, or on the go. For this reason, Matcha To-Go was made with convenience and ease in mind. Matcha To-Go comes in single-serving sticks, and is designed to eliminate the need for a traditional tea bowl and whisk. All you need to do is pour it in a water bottle and shake. Voila! So easy!

It’s even easier now with our Aiya Tumbler, designed with a built-in strainer so you can even add ice for chilling, or fruit of your choice for flavor! And for a limited time, we are offering FREE Aiya Matcha To-Go tumblers to our valued customers.There are two ways you can receive your FREE tumbler:

Purchase one Matcha To-Go box, and you will automatically receive a FREE tumbler:

http://aiyamatcha.com/consumers/index.php/matcha-to-go-sticks.html

If you already enjoy Aiya’s Matcha To-Go or any of our other products:

*This offer is only valid while supplies last and only on purchases placed through the Aiya consumer online store with a registered account—purchases made as a guest at checkout will not count. Limit one free tumbler per customer. Any purchases made after supplies are exhausted will not be eligible for this offer, and no exchanges will be allowed. Aiya reserves the right to terminate or alter this promotion at any time without prior notice.

Have you heard the exciting news? Aiya Matcha is expanding, and we couldn’t be happier! Our products have recently been picked up by one of the biggest natural organic distributors on the west coast– Nature’s Best. Nature’s Best is a wholesaler-distributor in the natural products industry that provides organic and natural food products to retailers and stores all throughout the west coast. They are going to carry our six hottest products: the Ceremonial Matcha 30g tin, the Organic Ceremonial 30g tin, the Cooking Grade 100g bag, the Organic Cooking Grade 100g bag, the Matcha Zen Café Blend, and the Matcha To-Go Sticks.

To our consumers:

​ What it means for you: now that Nature’s Best is carrying our products, they’ll be distributing it to many of your favorite local chain stores, making it much easier for you to find our products when you’re shopping for daily groceries. Now when you’re craving a cup of hot Matcha tea, or when you’re just itching to have that evening Matcha latte, you can get it immediately at your local store. You’ll never have to wait to get Matcha again! Make sure to request our products if you don’t see them on your local store shelves; we’re certain they’d be happy to stock them for you.

To our wholesale customers:

We’re sure many of you already work with Nature’s Best. Well, great news! Now that Nature’s Best carries our products, you can simply utilize them as your distributor to obtain our delicious products. We love how convenient our products are becoming! However, if you would like to keep buying from us directly, you’re still more than welcome to, and we’d be happy to assist.

Just this past week, the Aiya America team flew out to Baltimore, Maryland for our first ever Natural Products Expo East held at the Baltimore Convention Center. It was a very exhilarating trip for us because although we have been exhibiting at the Natural Products Expo West for the past couple of years in Anaheim, this was our very first time at the NPE East.

This expo definitely matched our excitement with its incredible turn out. What an extremely busy and exciting show this was, with over 4000 product booths. In fact, they had so many booths that they had to split up the exhibition onto two floors, with various products lined up from food and drinks to cosmetics, and even pet food.

Our main business has always been more for companies that use Matcha as an ingredient in their Matcha-flavored products, but we have recently started to expand our business to consumers, creating more consumer-friendly products such as the Matcha-To-Go Sticks and the Zen Café Blend. The Natural Products Expo East was also a great endeavor for Aiya America because we met many brokers, which means that there is a good chance that we could expand.

During the show, we sampled out our Matcha-To-Go Sticks and a Matcha green tea latte featuring our Zen Café Blend, along with our Ceremonial grade Matcha. These samples were all a great hit, getting warm compliments all around. Because Matcha has a deep green color, people often mentioned that they expected a bitter taste, yet were pleasantly surprised by the smooth, mild taste of Matcha.

Something else we thought was very exciting was the amount of products at the expo that were made using Matcha. During the show, we saw Matcha flavored snacks, Matcha flavored coffee, and even Matcha flavored coconut water. It’s great to see Matcha expanding and getting so popular—make sure to jump on this trend while it’s still hot!

After the show, we were able to explore Baltimore a bit, eating delicious seafood and even going to a baseball game. Though the wait for the food was a bit long, the food was definitely worth it. Overall, we had a great time in Baltimore and the show was a great experience for us, as we got to see many trending products and meet tons of new people from the east coast. We’re very eager to come back next year to see what the Natural Products Expo East 2015 has in store for us.

Aiya is proud to announce that THREE of our teas have been named first place winners in their categories of the 2014 North American Tea Championship! Our Premium Matcha, Premium Gyokuro, and Matcha Infused Genmaicha have all received 1st place honors. To celebrate receiving such high praise for our teas, we’d like to take this opportunity to share the experience with all of our customers. That’s why we’re offering a special promotion for each of these teas for ONE FULL MONTH! From TODAY until September 22nd, you can save on ALL three of these teas!

Please check the details below carefully as they differ for consumers and wholesalers:

To take advantage of this deal and start shopping right now, head over to AiyaMatcha.com.

If you have any questions or would like further clarification, please do not hesitate to contact us at contact@aiya-america.com.

*Discount only valid on these specified items in stock at and purchased through our online wholesale and consumer stores respectively. Please note that this discount does not apply to our organic variety loose leaf teas. Orders must be placed between 12:00AM on Thursday, August 21st 2014 and 11:59 PM PST on September 22nd, 2014 to qualify. Aiya reserves the right to change the terms of or terminate this promotion without prior notice.

On August 16th and the 17th, the Aiya team exhibited in our own backyard! No, not in our parking lot, but at the Los Angeles International Tea Festival! It was Aiya’s third year in a row exhibiting as a gold sponsor. It was held at its usual location, the Japanese American National Museum in the Little Tokyo area of Downtown LA. This year it was a little different in that it was held during Nisei Week, an annual festival that celebrates Japanese-American culture. Little Tokyo is probably the most crowded out of the whole year during this week. There were some other interesting events going on such as a ramen festival and a gyoza (dumpling) eating contest.

There was an estimated crowd of about 2,600 visitors over the two-day event, where vendors had booths in the main hall of the museum and in the pedestrian walkway outside the front door. We were indoors, as we have been in the past two years, luckily away from the scorching mid-summer heat. The great thing about this show is that it is open to the public with a small entrance fee. It is geared towards regular consumers and gives them a chance to try different types of teas. It also gives us a chance to interact with people from our own backyard, which we always enjoy.

The show has always been a busy one, but since it took place during Nisei Week, it was even more so than usual. We sampled our Matcha To Go, Ceremonial Matcha and iced Matcha green tea lattes using our Matcha Zen Café Blend. The samples were extremely popular and it was tough keeping up with demand, but we powered through it by drinking our Matcha; it provides a “calm alertness.”

There are also educational classes about tea that take place during show. Aiya’s very own Michael Kaneko led a presentation that focused on the basics of Matcha. He talked about what Matcha is and the key points that differentiate it from other green teas. Many of the class attendees had heard of Matcha, but didn’t really know what made it so special, so the class was very informative for them.

Although we say Matcha is on the rise in popularity, it was truly evident at the show. Many tea companies that previously did not have any association with Matcha, were showcasing products that included the tea and some were even selling the Matcha itself. It’s going to be interesting to see in a year’s time at this show, how many more companies will be incorporating Matcha in their lineup. We hope the local visitors we met had a great time and that we see them next year as well.

The Aiya America team traveled out to New York City at the tail-end of this past June. We did not go there for leisure, as some of you might be thinking, but to exhibit at the Summer Fancy Food Show. It was our first time doing the summer version of the Fancy Food Show, so it was an exciting and interesting venture. We have been doing the Winter Fancy Food Show the past couple years, which is held in San Francisco. Since we have been seeing the national rise in popularity of Matcha, especially on the East Coast, we decided to fly out to the “City That Never Sleeps” for our inaugural exhibition.

The show was held at the Javits Convention Center in the Hell’s Kitchen area of Manhattan. The weather was somewhat hot and humid, but nothing overbearing, as it would have been if the show took place in the middle of summer. New York City is a great place to have a show because there are so many people from various backgrounds and countries, which gives it a great international feel.

The Summer Fancy Food Show itself was extremely large, occupying the two main floors of the Javits Center and an adjoining hallway. There were also large sections designated to specific countries from all around the world. When it came to exhibitor and attendee turnout, this show in the ‘Big Apple’ did not disappoint. The show was very busy, something akin to the hustle and bustle on the streets of Manhattan.

The Fancy Food Show is a great place for one to see the new products and trends that are emerging in the Food and Beverage industry. There probably is no better place for this than in NYC, which is considered one of the few cities in the world, where hot trends and movements actually start from. We met many people who were knowledgeable about Matcha and consumed it on a regular basis. There were many excited attendees wanting to try our Iced Matcha Latte and Iced Matcha Green Tea samples. There was a lot of buzz about a fairly new product called Motto, which is a sparkling Matcha green tea drink that is naturally sweetened. We also enjoyed a tasty batch of Matcha green tea donuts made by a local NYC shop, the Doughnut Plant.

Overall, the show went very well and it was a great experience to meet some of our customers from this region. Hopefully, the Summer Fancy Food Show will become a regular stop on our yearly show schedule. We will be back on the East Coast near the end of September for the Natural Products Expo East held in Baltimore, Maryland.

A couple of weeks back, we exhibited at the 2014 IFT Show. This year it was held in New Orleans, or as some like to refer as the ‘Big Easy.’ The previous IFT Show was held in Chicago and the year before that, it was in Las Vegas. So the show has been in different locations the past few times, possibly to keep it fresh and exciting.

The IFT Show is an ingredient show, so it would be fitting that Aiya would be exhibiting there. Our main business has always been providing Matcha green tea as an ingredient, from which companies can create their own exciting and delicious Matcha green tea flavored products. IFT stands for the Institute of Food Technologies and this show showcases ingredient companies, formulation companies, etc.

The traffic at the show was quieter compared to other shows we exhibit at throughout the year. The reason being, the IFT Show focuses on a smaller group of companies, as opposed to other shows that focus on the retail and consumer market side. That being said, the attendance was steady and fairly busy on the first weekday of the show. We featured and sampled our Matcha To Go, making chilled Matcha green tea. We also used our Matcha Zen Café Blend to make Iced Matcha green tea lattes. Additionally, we had Matcha chocolate out to taste for the attendees, which is made by one of our customers.

Overall, the show went well and we were successful in showcasing the versatility of Matcha green tea as an ingredient. We met many representatives from companies looking to use Matcha green tea in new products. We noticed that the nutritional benefits of Matcha green tea is the focus for many upcoming products such as power bars, protein powders and energy supplements. We are definitely seeing the interest in Matcha green tea growing with bigger companies and with the public in general. We wait in anticipation of new and exciting Matcha green tea products hitting the market in the near future.